Trump prepared to extend conservative partnership with Viktor Orban of Hungary

BUDAPEST: In a video message on Friday, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said that he was prepared to reestablish a conservative coalition with nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary.
One of Trump’s closest supporters in Europe, Orban’s remarks that the US president would not defend nations that did not fulfill their NATO defense budget pledges have alarmed European officials.

Should Trump win the presidency, US relations with Hungary may improve. Washington has been criticizing Budapest for its strong links to Russia and its protracted delays in ratifying Sweden’s NATO membership, which Budapest eventually consented to in February.
Calling Prime Minister Orban a “great man,” Trump said, “I look forward to working closely with Prime Minister Orban once again when I take the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States.”

At the third CPAC event in Hungary, Trump’s speech was shown at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the most important conservative conference in the US, held in Budapest.
Following accusations by past administrations that Orban’s government was restricting democratic liberties, such as press freedom and judicial independence, the US and Hungary developed a tighter connection under the Trump administration.
“As president, I was proud to work with Prime Minister Orban, by the way, a great man, to advance the values and interests of our two nations,” Trump said. “We cracked down on illegal immigration, protected our borders, created jobs, and defended our traditions and Judeo-Christian values.”
Many on the American hard right see Orban, who won a landslide election in 2022 and was re-elected for a fourth term in a row, as an inspiration because of his strict immigration laws, support for families, and Christian conservatism.
In March, Trump and Orban met in Florida. Following their discussion, Orban offered the former president his support and said that peace in Ukraine could only be achieved by Trump’s return to the White House.
Orban said that 2024 will be a year of global elections and that conservative forces should strive to prevail in order to eliminate “liberal hegemony” in an address to CPAC on Thursday.
The country’s economy is in crisis, an abuse scandal has rocked Orban’s family-values program, and a political newcomer is threatening to overthrow the status quo, making this year’s European and local elections perhaps the hardest of his 14-year leadership.
In spite of these obstacles, Fidesz under Orban continues to be the most well-liked party in Hungary.